Airline prices on the rise for Spring Break

The above graphic indicates average prices for the top six spring break destinations.

Ceci Du/Iowa State Daily

The above graphic indicates average prices for the top six spring break destinations.

Zoë Woods

More than one million students from around the world travel for Spring Break, spending over $1 billion, as stated by dosomething.org, a website catered to young people with the desire to bring about social change.

The large amount of students traveling means more ticket sales for airlines. Recently, major airlines such as Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Airlines have increased their prices for tickets.

“Usually in certain markets the airfare is kept competitive. What will happen, as you probably will notice, is sometimes there is a pattern in a recreational market where [there are] seats that are still needing to be sold,” according to a United Airlines spokesman. “Airlines will try to encourage sales by having a lower fare.”

The main catch for consumers, he said, is the tax that is added onto the base fare for airline tickets.

For an average round trip flight to Florida, the number one spot for students to travel according to dosomething.org, at base fare price is $385 traveling out of Des Moines International airport, the spokesman said.

“The base fare is always what the airline is going to try and make. Everything else that is added to the final price of the ticket are the taxes. You have the TSA [Transportation Security Administration] tax, the Homeland Security tax and there is a facility use fee. So when all of that is added to the actual ticket, you get a ticket that is over $400,” the spokesperson said.

Morgan Jungman, a sophomore in kinesiology and health, is traveling to Florida for Spring Break. She said her airline ticket was $829 for round trip.

“I think airfare prices have gotten way too high, and pretty much impossible for anybody to just fly. It took a lot of time to save up the money,” Jungman said.

According to its website, Airlines for America, A4A, is a corporation designed to “foster a business and regulatory environment that ensures safe and secure air transportation and enables U.S. airlines to flourish, stimulating economic growth locally, nationally and internationally.”

A4A airline members and their affiliates transport more than 90 percent of all passengers and cargo in the United States as stated in the website.

“A4A does not forecast fares,” said Victoria Day, a spokeswoman for A4A. “The good news for travelers is that airfare is a bargain, having not kept pace with overall U.S. inflation, which rose 33 percent from 2000 to 2012.”

Even with an increase in ancillary services, when adjusted for inflation, airfare actually fell 10 percent, Day said.

According to an article in USA Today, “fees are a major source of revenue for the industry.” The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics state that “15 U.S. airlines reported revenues of $2.6 billion from baggage fees and $2.1 billion from reservation-change fees during the first three quarters last year.”

For students, traveling instate for Spring Break will save them money, said a spokesperson for United. There are lot of things the U.S. has to offer, there are plenty of beautiful places to visit, he said.